PSP Investments evolves corporate stewardship pratices

Montréal, Canada (August 29, 2017)— The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has released the first edition of its Responsible Investment Report. A complement to PSP Investments’ annual report, this document outlines the broad range of initiatives taken to promote responsible corporate behaviour and integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into decisionmaking.

Guiding the initiatives is a newly created, dedicated Responsible Investment group led by Stéphanie Lachance, Vice President, Responsible Investment.

“Responsible investment is at the very heart of our investment strategy,” said André Bourbonnais, President and Chief Executive Officer of PSP Investments. “It is fundamental to due diligence and our total fund perspective. We are proud of the team’s accomplishments, which are rooted in the belief that good corporate conduct and strong governance enhance long-term financial performance.” Responsible Investment initiatives in fiscal year 2017 included:

• Developing and implementing strategic initiatives in line with our responsible investment policy. 
• Identifying, monitoring and mitigating ESG issues for each asset class and at the total portfolio.
• Promoting greater gender diversity on boards of TSX-listed issuers.
• Performing ESG assessment on all significant private market transactions.
• Pursuing active ownership through proxy voting and engagement activities with public issuers in order to promote sound governance and responsible corporate behaviour.
• Improving our internal capabilities via training on ESG factors.
• Creating and hosting Canada’s first ESG peer forum for leading pension funds.

PSP Investments also promoted ESG principles through its involvement with various external programs, such as the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) initiative, the PRI Québec Network, the PRI Advisory Committee on Credit Ratings, Finance Montréal’s Responsible Investment work group, the 30% Club, the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, the International Corporate Governance Network and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

For more information, visit our 2017 Responsible Investment Report microsite.

About PSP Investments
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is one of Canada's largest pension investment managers with $135.6 billion of net assets under management as of March 31, 2017. It manages a diversified global portfolio composed of investments in public financial markets, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources and private debt. Established in 1999, PSP Investments manages net contributions to the pension funds of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in Montréal and offices in New York and London. For more information, visit www.investpsp.com or follow us on Twitter @InvestPSP.

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